have a minimum of 1 character and/or a maximum of 7 characters for regular plates

have a minimum of 1 character and/or a maximum of 5 characters for motorcycle plates

have a minimum of 1 character and/or a maximum of 5 characters (for veteran plate (3-pass, 2-58 and ham radio operator plates)

Personalized plates are issued on a first come first served basis. Plate configurations cannot be reserved.

There are also restrictions on what you can have on your personalized plate:

can’t be a look-alike or similar plate to one that already exists

can’t use the letter O, only a 0 (zero) may be used

no ethnic slurs

no religious slurs

no foul language

no sexual connotations

no political slurs

no illegal acts

no text that may cause identification problems, such as MLA, Mayor, Doctor, etc.

no text message abbreviation that may be offensive.

no words when translated are offensive.

no reference to alcoholic beverages, controlled substances or paraphernalia used in the consumption of these

must not be a configuration used by Motor Vehicles for regular licence plates

Transferring and changing a personalized plate

You may request a change to your personalized plate after the order is placed, within the first 90 days to:

cancel and refund – you must return both unused licence plates

exchange the unused plate for a new configuration

A personalized licence plate can only be transferred:

to an immediate family member, such as mother, father, brother, sister, son, daughter, spouse, common-law spouse and in-laws

between a company and the company owner, when the person is the only owner of the company

Once a personalized licence plate is issued, you don’t pay any additional fees to retain the special plate. You only pay the standard vehicle registration renewal fee.

Ham radio operator plate

Ham radio operator plates can be issued to Albertans who have a valid Amateur Radio Operator Certificate issued by Industry Canada.

Ham radio operator plates bear the ham radio operator’s call sign shown on their Amateur Radio Operator Certificate. Canadian ham radio operator call signs have a national prefix for each province that has 2 letters and a number. They also have the 2 or 3 letter suffix of your call sign.

Alberta’s assigned prefixes are:

VA6

VE6

Albertans may request personalized veterans’ plates displaying their ham radio operator call letters if it doesn’t have more than 5 total characters.

If you’re moving to Alberta from another jurisdiction, you cannot use the prefix from the other jurisdiction. Your plate will be printed with the Alberta prefix and your call sign.

To obtain you Alberta ham radio operator’s plate, you need:

acceptable identification

a valid Amateur Radio Operator Certificate

Antique licence plate

An antique passenger or motorcycle plate is available for vehicles or motorcycles that are 25 years old or more and will be only used in the following ways:

as a collector’s item in exhibitions

in club activities

in parades

as transportation to and from these events

as transportation to servicing appointments

To get an antique plate, you must meet the following criteria:

provide acceptable identification

the vehicle must be a minimum of 25 years old

if it’s imported, you need an import form

have proof of ownership

if the vehicle is from outside Alberta, you have a vehicle inspection

In-transit permit (temporary plate)

Alberta does not have a temporary licence plate. We can issue you a special permit called an in-transit permit.

An in-transit permit allows a person to move a vehicle or trailer that doesn’t have a valid vehicle registration and licence plate.

The in-transit permit can be used in the following situations:

moving a vehicle between 2 points in Canada

maximum 3 days within Alberta, maximum 7 days out of province

towing

maximum 3 days within Alberta, maximum 7 days out of province

for car dealership demonstration/test drive purposes

maximum 7 days

repairs/servicing

maximum 7 days

salvage vehicles

maximum 24 hours

When you’re moving the vehicle from one province to another, the starting point or ending point must be in Alberta.

Request an in-transit permit

To request an in-transit permit when using it in Alberta only, you need the following documents:

identification

proof of insurance

To request an in-transit permit when using inside and outside of Alberta, you need the following documents:

identification

proof of insurance

proof of ownership

When an unregistered vehicle or trailer is carrying a load, a load licensing permit is needed in addition to the in-transit permit.

Transfer a plate to a new vehicle

If you already have a valid licence plate and registration and want to use it on a new vehicle, you can request it to be transferred.